As a Zephyr
by Albedineity
Summary: The victims of the Air Nomad Genocide were uncountable. Malu was one of them. A series of one-shots.
1. one

**AN: Malu is a character from the A:TLA card game (usually not considered as canon). The oneshots won't be chronically sorted.  
>This is for the Bender Challenge by alyssialui.<strong>

**Prompt: 11 - fear.**

A slight draught entered the cave. The young Malu sighed and readjusted her place against the rough wall, willing herself not to be distracted. The connection between her and the spirits grew more fragile with every day, every next attack of the Fire Nation.  
><em>The Fire Nation.<em>  
>Frowning, Malu stopped meditating. Gingerly, she dropped to her knees and crawled towards the entrance of the cave. The screams of the dying monks and the children and the ordinary people were like punches in the gut each time she heard them. Finally, there will come a day where she might do something. the spirits, her airbending, her... <em>other<em> abilities, they were all at her command. Leaving her in this cave was one of the worst or one of the best decisions her mother made. Malu had no problems with self-training herself to defend her own, worthless life.  
>Trembling hands pressed against the narrow cave entrance. The rocks dug into her numb skin.<br>Another sob, followed by a yell of defiance and death, echoed through the forest and Malu jumped back, back to the tenebrous corner.  
>No.<br>Battling a sob, she curled into a ball and cradled her head in her arms. Her dreams- no, nightmares might be haunted by the her helplessness (or selfishness) at least won't cost another life. But what could a mere 12 year old do?


	2. two

**AN: Thank you to Completely Confunded for the first review.**

**Prompt: 36 - Funeral**

Near midnight, the chances of dying lessened. Or at least fewer people went near the forest. Each time the shadows grew and the moon rose, Malu climbed out of her cave and collected flowers. White lotuses, jasmines, moon flowers, the plain daisies. Once, she managed to reap a panda lily (her parents were one of the first casualties). Roses grew in hundreds in the Eastern Temples.

_Conscience won't ever help you in a war_, she told herself innumerable times. _One day the Fire Nation will notice you._  
>Yet, that was all she could do to stop the merciless, choking hands of guilt.<p>

Malu laid the flowers before her. Each group had an equal amount of flowers, each in a hole of an equal size. Their vivid colours contrasted with the charred ground, although before they would have been hard to notice between the other flora.  
>Kneeling down, she started praying for the lost airbenders. What they could have been but never will be. She prayed to the spirits, speaking to them on the airbenders' behalf. She knew she didn't have to. Air Nomads were the last you could accuse of any atrocities. But the guilt didn't let her.<p>

Breathing in deeply, Malu stood up with her head still bowed and scattered the myriad of the ethereal petals which danced with the winds, leaving no evidence behind them. With another gust of the wind, the holes smoothed down and disappeared from existence. Today's graves were gone.  
><em>But it will help someone else.<em>  
>Swiftly, Malu turned towards the hidden cave and ran.<br>Survival was still her first priority.


	3. three

**AN: The story which the Avatar Wiki gave her doesn't make a lot of sense in some places.**

**Prompt: 3# Earth**

Malu still wasn't sure if she preferred living near a swamp or living in a cave. The Earth Kingdom was slightly safer, but it wasn't home. Every time mud squelched under her bare feet, another particular forest appeared before her. She might pretend not to feel anything when lighting fire, but her clenched fists spoke otherwise.

There was one way to get away from it. Shuddering, Malu traipsed through the mud, trying to avoid any pebbles or logs. The number of natural objects was almost amazing, even for Earth Kingdom. A stick here, a boulder there. Her feet were definitely sore. Months of living with next to no food and movement certainly didn't benefit her.  
>After few hours, the "road" ended abruptly, near a colossal mountain. Malu gazed up, a calculating look on her face. A human was an ant compared to this, it would be perfect for a new home. Tricking the Fire Nation soldiers into thinking she would stay in the forest was easier than she expected it to be - but no one said that soldiers were employed for intelligence. Miscalculating airbenders was always a common mistake.<p>

With the last of her energy, Malu levitated herself and flew to the mountain top. Immediately shielding her eyes from the rising sun, she looked downwards. 2 indents were clear in the sunlight. Flying down, she noted an obstructed path. With her hair constantly getting into her eyes, she sped up before crash-landing on a rough surface.

"Ow!" Malu winced at the sound of her voice. Rarely needing to speak, she lived for the past 3 years in complete silence.

While gasping for breath, she started crawling where she could see a medium hole. She could live for now.


	4. four

**Prompt: 41 - death**

The first time she killed someone, she was ten. He wasn't from Fire Nation.

* * *

><p>Chaos around her, she ran without a place in mind, her mother behind her. She didn't notice how the charred earth singed her feet. She tripped and stumbled on the dead bodies, until she didn't. Rasping breath caught her hearing. Malu looked down.<br>Remains of a kashaya robe were on his body and he had his hands around a wooden necklace. Realizing that the monk was trying to strangle himself, Malu crouched down.

"Malu!" Her mother. She was still trying to protect her.

"I'll be with you in a moment. Go, mum!" She replied, not looking back. She could hear her mother stop for a few seconds, before running ahead with hesitance.

Refocusing on the monk laying at her feet, Malu put her hand on his.

"Do you really want to do this?" She whispered. The Fire Nation passed this area hours before, everyone was either dead or fleeing. There was no chance of finding a healer.

Blank eyes gazed at her, almost pleading. She understood.  
>He would be dead in a few minutes anyway.<p>

Malu closed her eyes, and filled her hands with qi. She placed her hands on the monk's throat, who had a strangely grateful smile on his face. Few seconds later, the air in his system was under her control, escaping the man.

Malu stood up on trembling feet. She took a deep breath and choked on a mixture of tears and the poisonous air. Sobbing, Malu rejoined her mother who stood in the distance, waiting.


	5. five

**AN: Don't you love it when someone doesn't update a story for a week?**

**Prompt: 24 - "I'll believe it when I see it"**

Malu crouched behind a bush. Leaves obscured her vision, so she shifted herself to the right, where an empty field was. The branches swung into her again. Sighing, she released a gentle puff of air and moved them back into the ground, hopefully permanently.

One of the two soldiers in front of her stilled.

Silently cursing beneath her breath, Malu backed away into the wilderness. If they noticed her...

"You felt that?" the shorter one asked.

"What?" the other one grunted.

"Air, more than there usually is. What if it's another Nomad?"

"Shut up already, if you don't want an actual one to find us."

"But-", he started stuttering.

"You are being paranoid. I'll believe it when I see it."

The short one crossed his arms and muttered something suspiciously close to 'I'll show you paranoid', but otherwise didn't comment any further. Malu could see that he was still tense. Biting her lip, she started thinking of a possible plan. The soldiers weren't going to move from away any time soon, so she had to distract them. The forests were empty of any animals those days, they weren't a possibility, and she was hesitant on attacking anyone. They would kill her by the time she would have the guts to harm them.  
>Sound will have to do.<p>

This time being careful not to make any movements, Malu channelled her airbending. A miniature hurricane formed in her open palm. It swirled faster and faster with each second, and Malu gripped the wooden staff in her other hand. The hurricane soon turned into a bright sphere. Flicking her wrist into the general direction of the sky, she released the sphere.

"I swear to Agni, if you say I'm making it up this time!"

"I heard it! It came from the trees!"

The two soldiers hurried onto their feet and sped towards the aforementioned trees. When their figures were fairly distant, Malu emerged from the wilderness. In their hurry, they forgot one vital thing - a scroll. She left it outside her cave by accident, and it was only her luck that allowed her to track down the men who took it.  
>Malu grasped the worn piece of paper. It was the only thing which her mother left her. The writing was exclusive to the Eastern Air Temple, so Fire Nation shouldn't have been able to read it - so she hoped, as it contained valuable information.<p>

Malu closed her eyes for a few seconds, before heading back to the cave. She didn't have any time to waste.


	6. six

**Prompt: 12 - Love**

For as long as she could remember, Malu had the guidance of spirits. Perhaps it wasn't the best word to describe it. They watched her every second of her life, not guided her. She didn't really mind - she could remember al the times where her life was at stakes, and their mercy helped her.  
>Besides, having your qi boosted was never a bad thing, right? No, she loved it. She loved astounding people with her newfound abilities, which were rare for her age.<br>What she didn't love was the uncountable times she encountered the word 'witch' aimed in her direction. In the end, she was used to them, but that didn't lessen the damage. The half of dozen friends she had made fun of it (Apart from one. Malu preferred not to think about her). They didn't understand and belittled her for something they didn't have. She didn't mind. They all died after all, and she couldn't ever hate the dead. She knew it wasn't pleasant.

Nowadays, the spirits weren't so often seen by Malu. The war raged, and they stayed out or avoided her.  
>She didn't mind. She learnt quickly, sweeping a Fire Nationalist after another one.<p>

She knew one thing though: she should be dead.


	7. seven

**Prompt: 21 - Bright**

The morning sun was might have as well blinded her. The bright disk glared at her and she returned the sentiment.  
>Shifting to the closest shadow, Malu became aware of a creeping sensation encompassing her hands.<br>She stopped breathing, realisation hitting her.

_Again._

* * *

><p>There were days when Malu doubted her perception.<br>Her life was blurred, as if she was forgetting _something. _No, not something - that would imply only one event, one memory she failed to grasp at. She tried to catch them to no avail. It was like gathering water with bare hands as it fell past her, sinking into the ground while she stood helpless.  
>Her nightmares played a role in it, nudging her and forcing to remember few seconds. They tore her apart, giving brighter glimpses of sanity amongst the chaos. Of course, she forgot everything of her dreams.<br>Malu tore at her hair with crawling skin, frantic to know. Shivering wildly, she questioned her reality. The answers fled from her. Her etiolated body supported her, but her mind did not.

She blamed it on the spirits. She blamed it on excess use of her qi, on a new method of torture by the soldiers (she stopped calling them the Fire Nation soldiers after she stopped denying that every side had its victims). She tried placing the blame on everything but herself, longing for isolation from what she knew was real (Or not. She didn't know reality after all).

_I'm finally going mad._


	8. eight

**Prompts: Envy, mother**

* * *

><p>She used to sneak out of her cave at nights, to find a nearby source of water.<br>It was usually a river. Many of them ran through the groves and forests of the Earth Kingdom.

She knelt down, and stared at it.  
>The gentle ripples distorted her image, and formed completely different scenes. Well, not completely. They were her memories, she was still present in the rivers.<br>The cracked echo of the past looked back, disdainful leer stuck onto her. _She _had everything - life, safety, sanity, and a mother. _She_ was what would never come back to her. As Malu remembered when her life wasn't a complete chaos made up of only running away and hiding (_like a coward_), she couldn't help but feel envy. The emerald reflection tempted her to forget everything. To come with her.  
>Before she stopped, before she realised revisiting her past would only poison her wounds deeper, she wheezed and shook with every second. And yet, she came back until she couldn't take it any more.<p>

But every time she passed by water, she kept seeing herself. Not her present self. The self which had reasons to live for.

Now, she looked at herself with indifference. And disgust.


End file.
